I’m trying wild health, that’s what I learned from my genetic project

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As you may know from a previous article, for the past month and a half (approximately), I have been following the Optimizing Health Protocol of Wild Health, a precision medicine service that helps you achieve optimal health by providing personalized genetic-based care .

I interrupted my last article just before the big reveal of my genetic blueprint. And since then, I’ve had a chance to sit down with my doctor and go through my health report, a 50-page document that combined my genetic and lab tests into a comprehensive look at my overall health, including diet, exercise, and longevity.

The report: The slightly intimidating 50-page document was divided into seven sections: diet, exercise, sleep, neurobehavioral, microbiome, chronic disease, and longevity. (I didn’t have the microbiome test, so that section was blank for me.)

Noting that this report was just a summary of some of the biggest influencers on my health, my doctor walked me through each section providing lighthearted anecdotes to match the jargon description of my genome in the report. Here are some of the highlights of what I learned:

Diet:

• Looking at my genetics, my doctor informed me that I can tolerate carbohydrates, fats and saturated fats well although there were some risk alleles (variations) associated with my fat intolerance. One such risk factor noted that I’m less likely to lose weight if I eat a high-fat, low-calorie diet.

• High cholesterol runs in my familyand it’s no surprise that I have it too.

• I have a slower choline kinase enzyme (choline is a necessary nutrient in the brain and the nervous system needs it to regulate memory, mood, and muscle control), which, curiously, goes down to affect multiple parts of my health, from liver enzymes to diet. Many recommendations included increasing choline-rich foods: fish, eggs, dairy products, and green vegetables.

Exercise:

• The most important thing for me are rest days. My body performs power and endurance exercises pretty much the same, but based on my 35% recovery time in between, my muscles may need an extra day to recover. This means, according to my doctor, being aware of pain and tiredness and making sure you take a day or two to actively recover. And, if I’m hitting the gym four times a week, think about taking that fourth day a little easier.

Sleep:

• Due to a genetic tag, the more disturbances in my circadian rhythm, the higher my risk of cancer. The recommendations here were to check my food intake before bed by making sure I fasted for about 12 hours each night.

Longevity:

• I have an angry gene! I’ve always gotten a little grumpy when I’m too hungry, and now my genetics prove it.

My goals: Based on the major issues or what may be future issues found in my report, my doctor came up with some goals for me during the rest of my time with Wild Health. Interestingly, these problems were mostly the ones found in my extended family, the ones carved into my genetic sequence: improving my cholesterol, reducing my risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia, and improving my cardiovascular risk.

• For the next few weeksI will work towards these goals with my Health Coach. Well, take my doctor’s recommendations and turn them into tangible milestones.

The bottom line: While I am very healthy overall, working with Wild Health has given me a peek into the potential problems that may arise down the road. Now, knowing what’s in my genetic blueprint, I have the ability to work against these issues and improve my disease risk later in life.